12th – 13th November 

Emmi & Nick had got me well prepped for my camping trip, lending me a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, camping stove, and pretty much every other camping gadget you can think of. Not quite sure what I was planning to do without them 🤔. 

Emmi dropped me off in town and we planned to drive back via our accommodations to pick up all our gear. We met outside Budget Car Rentals and went in to see what they had. It worked out pretty cheap, around $50 AUD per day, plus insurance. We got our little Toyota Corolla and off we went! First stops to pick up our stuff, second to load up on food & drink (where we met some random Aussie who owned and had brought out his pet snake 🐍) & then off for the 3+ hour drive to Kakadu!

Kakadu National Park had been recommended as a must by a lot of people when I said I was coming to Darwin. It’s a great place to see crocs in the wild, home to hundreds of native bird species and still home to native indigenous people – they’re one of the oldest living culture on earth! Aboriginal people have lived in Kakadu for over 65,000 years!! It feels a vey spiritual place, it’s beauty and vast wilderness spanning more than half the size of Switzerland!

A Late Afternoon in Kakadu 

I drove as driving in Australia is on the left side of the road like the UK, and Jennifer being from Germany was a little nervous, we needed to pick up some time today. We arrived late afternoon after all our faffing in the morning. Arriving straight at the info point, our best option from where we were was to catch the free guided sundown walk to Nawurlandja lookout, where we saw our first rock art in the park and were spoiled with an amazing view of Nourlangie rock, Anbangbang Billabong and the surrounding escarpment & Anaman plateau (I know you’ll have no idea where or what any of these places are, but I just like the names 😁). 

We learnt the story of Namargan, the lightning man, and the coming of the wet season – the story goes that on his final journey Namargan left his eye in the Anaman plateau to watch and wait for the wet season. There’s a marking on the rock that looks like an eye. At the start of the wet season leichhardt’s grasshoppers appear around Kakadu & Arnhemland, natural indicators that the wet season is arriving. According to aboriginal law, these grasshoppers are the children of Namagan calling out to their father to bring on the powerful wet season storms. This part of the National Park is called Arnhemland, the public are not allowed in this area as it’s sacred to the indigenous people. I find their ancient culture fascinating! So many people said to me ‘oh you’ll find Australian history and architecture boring compared to Europe as they’re history is so recent’ I beg to differ! And I’m pretty sure the Aboriginals would too!

A Night Camping Under the Stars

We then went off to find the closest camp site and set up our tents. It was……. basic, to say the least, true outdoor experience. Jennifer quickly discovered that the tent she bought wasn’t quite what she thought and didn’t want to use it so she could return it, so we both ended up in the small 2 man I’d borrowed from Emmi & Nick. We cooked up some pasta for dinner and had a beer each under the amazing southern starry sky. With little light pollution, the star gazing opportunity was fantastic, something I love about the wilderness in big countries (Namibia, Botswana and South Africa having a similar WOW effect on me). The sleeping part was interesting, even Darwinians thought we were mad to camp at that time of year, it was pretty toasty, even with Emmi & Nick’s portable fan blasting. I got up in the night to stare at the stars again and cool down, I ended up in the back of the car for the last hour or 2. Still think it was a better nights sleeps than the hammock in Cambodia and though. 

Ancient Rock Art

The following day we met a morning guided ranger walk at Nourlangie, a site of incredible rock art and an ancient Aboriginal shelter. The whole place was fascinating, but what nearly ruined the entire morning was the audacious flies. They were constantly in your face, grossly trying to find any bit of moisture they could, so the aim was for the eyes, ears, nose and mouth 🤐. I had to keep waving my cap in front of my face constantly! 

TIP: Anyone going to Kakadu near the wet season or to Alice Springs and the red centre, invest in a fly head net. You may look stupid, but it will be soooooooooo worth it!!

Cultural River Cruise

We then went to the main town in the area, Jabiru, to book our tickets for the Guluyambi boat cruise on the East Alligator River, guided by a local Aboriginal, and to top up on fuel & water. I thought the name of the river was ironic as it was actually full of crocodiles. Of course at the time we bought the ticket we had plenty of time for town, but somehow ended up going way over and I literally had to bomb it to the boat station, breaking every speed limit on the way! We were pretty sure we’d missed it, as we rocked up late, but luckily we were just there in time. This was a huge relief as the tickets weren’t cheap and it was awesome! Whereas the more popular Yellow River boat cruise was just about the scenery, we’d chosen to do the lesser advertised cruise to learn more about the local indigenous culture, their way of life and how they live off the land – many traditions have remained similar for thousands of years! Loved it. To top it off we saw loads of wild crocs and got to step off the boat into sacred Anhemland for 10 mins, which we were allowed to do with the local guide.

guide.

Heading Home

We then took a look at the rockart at Ubirr, which was close by, and climbed up a rocky lookout for an epic view of the Nadab plains!

The sun was hazy on the way down. It was time to head home. Jennifer took the wheel this trip so I could sit back & relax all the way to Darwin! I had a chat to Emmi, Nick & and said my goodbyes as they would be off to work and I’d be off to Cairns the next morning. It was amazing to be back in a proper bed in an air conned room that night.